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Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Second-Round Picks

Consider this an addendum to my column on second-round picks – and how the Redskins, to their detriment, are always trading them away. When you research a subject like this, you gather a lot of information, and not all of it makes the final cut. That’s why we have blogs, so we have a place to put really primo Extraneous Stuff (or so I’m told).

Anyway, the Redskins – hurrah – have a second-rounder this year (for now), but in the previous seven drafts (2004-2010) they were without one five times, more than any other team in the league. Here’s the company they keep:

SEE RELATED:

No. Team (Years without second-round pick)

5 Redskins (2004, ’05, ’07, ’09, ’10)

4 Texans (2004, ’05, ’07, ’08)

4 Chargers (2007, ’08, ’09, ’10)

3 49ers (2006, ’07, ’09)

3 Jets (2004, ’08, ’09)

Here, meanwhile, are clubs that had the most No. 2s in that period (note: the Redskins had four):

No. Team

10 Patriots

10 Vikings

9 Packers

9 Eagles

9 Browns

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to be on any list that included the Texans, who have never made the playoffs, and the 49ers, who have been absent from the postseason since 2002. I definitely would want to be on a list, though, that included the Patriots, Vikings, Packers and Eagles. After all, since 2004, two of them have won the Super Bowl (Pats, Pack), another reached the Super Bowl (Eagles) and the fourth just missed (the Vikes, who lost in overtime in the NFC title game).

Second-round picks weren’t necessarily the secret of those teams’ success, but they contributed to it. They certainly contributed more than the Redskins’ handful of second-rounders (Rocky McIntosh, Devin Thomas, Fred Davis, Malcolm Kelly) did. Take a look at the Patriots’, Vikings’, Packers’, and Eagles’ No. 2s and see if you don’t agree with me.

Putting an emphasis on second-round picks is just good business. Not only are they cost effective – compared to first-rounders, who are often overpriced – they also turn out, quite frequently, to be pretty good players.

Here, for your perusal, are the second rounds in the Free Agency Era (1993-present) that produced the most Pro Bowlers:

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About the Author

Dan Daly has been writing about sports for the Washington Times since 1982. He has won numerous national and local awards, appears regularly in NFL Films’ historical features and is the co-author of “The Pro Football Chronicle,” a decade-by-decade history of the game. Follow Dan on Twitter at @dandalyonsports –- or e-mail him at ddaly@washingtontimes.com.